Clemson Football: James Skalski to miss extended time with injury

Clemson football will be without its starting middle-linebacker for extended amount of time

There was hope that Clemson football would get starting MIKE linebacker James Skalski back this week, but that won’t be the case.

Skalski- who suffered a groin injury- was sidelined during the Syracuse game this past week and there was optimism that he would be back at 100 percent and ready to go by the Boston College game this weekend, but Clemson Coach Dabo Swinney said that the Tigers will be without Skalski for ‘a few games’ moving forward.

An MRI on Monday revealed a scope needed for Skalski, according to Tigernet.

"“That is a big loss for us,” Swinney said at his press conference. “He will miss a few games, unfortunately. It’s in the groin area and we will have to see how he responds.”“I just hate it for Jamie. He’s great player. It’s hard to replace what he brings as a fifth-year senior. He’s as good as it gets in college football in my opinion. He’s truly the heart and soul of our defense.”"

No one realizes how much Clemson football will miss James Skalski

On the season, Skalski had totaled 27 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss.

Skalski wasn’t just a big-time performer on the field, he was the leader of that defense. He did a great job calling out signals, keeping the unit focused and coming up with plays when they were needed.

Though it’s uncertain how many games Skalski will miss, the overarching belief is that it will be several weeks. That would include the Notre Dame game, which will be played next weekend.

With him gone, Clemson will turn to Jake Venables. Venables has shown that he is more than capable of manning that position, but now he’s going to be relied upon more than ever against a physical Boston College team with Notre Dame looming on the horizon the next week.

We wish Skalski a quick recovery and hopefully we’ll get to see him on the field for Clemson sooner rather than later.